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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28547328">Inside Jokes at Others Expense</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/KosmicPoptarts/pseuds/KosmicPoptarts'>KosmicPoptarts</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Fairy Tale Retellings, Harry Potter as Cinderella, M/M, Rarry, Thats a Tag?, Wow ok, dumbledore is the best fairy godmother, ronarry, this was a request by someone on tumblr, you know who you are</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:34:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,237</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28547328</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/KosmicPoptarts/pseuds/KosmicPoptarts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a rarry retelling of Cinderella based off an idea by @lytefoot on tumblr. I was just super inspired and want to put off my homework even more, ok?</p>
<p>*“Man, he just doesn’t know when to quit, does he?” Ron asked, gesturing to the round lad that his sister rejected once more. The lad beside him’s eyes widened a bit before he relaxed once again.<br/>“No kidding.” He hummed, watching as Ginny stomped away from the guy, who followed her once again. Several more jokes followed about the lads pursuit of Ginny followed.*</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Potter/Ron Weasley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>144</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Inside Jokes at Others Expense</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry scoffed at the ridiculous outfit his cousin, Dudley, had been beaming at in the glass case it was contained in. In just a few days, the King and Queen were hosting a ball for all of their children, as a way to branch out (and perhaps for their children to meet some new people, maybe even a special someone). Harry knew the King and Queen had many children, but he hadn’t seen all of them. He had only seen glances of the two oldest boys, Prince Charlie and Prince Bill (if he remembered correctly), and their daughter, Princess Ginerva. Harry could only ever dream of attending a fete of such high standards. He knew his aunt and uncle, the Dursley’s, would never let him attend anything of the sort. No, Harry was only the servant boy of the house, scrubbing away at anything that looked even the slightest bit dirty, preparing the meals and catering to all three Dursley’s every need. It wasn’t fair, but Harry had grown up in this life, having been taken in by them as a baby after the unfortunate deaths of his parents.</p>
<p>Uncle Vernon caught sight of the suit, smiling proudly and clapping Dudley on the shoulder.</p>
<p>“A mighty fine choice you’ve made, son! Princess Ginerva won’t be able to resist you!” The chubby old man laughed as they entered the shop to purchase the no doubt expensive suit. In Harry’s opinion, the suit looked retched, an ugly shade of bright green with maroon tassels hanging from the shoulders, elbows and the bottom edge of the suit. Several golden buttons adorned the front, each engraved with a creature that Harry thought resembled a pig. After trying it on, Harry had to contain his disdain after seeing that the suit (one of a kind, naturally) barely fit Dudley’s fat form. And yet, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia still fawned over him, showering him with praise and filling his head up so that if he had had any sense in that thick skull of his, his pride pushed it out through his ears. Harry hoped that if Princess Ginerva had any taste, she would reject Dudley immediately. </p>
<p>While his aunt and uncle still showered Dudley in compliments, Harry found himself looking around the tailor shop. There were many, much more appealing, suits scattered throughout. Suits of every color, every style, and every shape. One in particular caught his eye, a pale blue suit adorned with silver buttons, each with a stag carved into the face. The suit had lighter blue accents, all tied together with a silky white tie. Harry smiled slightly, fantasizing about himself going to the ball wearing this very suit. Perhaps he would make friends with the Princes, maybe even sweep Princess Ginerva off her feet, or maybe even be swept off of his own feet by one of the Princes. Harry could only dream, as soon his thoughts were interrupted by a sharp slap to the back of his head. He turned slightly to Uncle Vernon, who angrily pointed to the carriage outside. Harry sighed, taking one last look at the suit before slumping off outside to the brown carriage and climbing into the back where the luggage was.  No, he would only remain just Harry Potter, the weird service nephew of the wealthy Dursley’s, who would never amount to anything, or become friends with anyone.</p>
<p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>The castle that housed the King and Queen and their rather large family was bustling even more than usual. Servants were scattered about, each with their mind set to a specific task, be it food preparations or decorating. Needless to say, everyone was busy, especially the royal family themselves. King Arthur busied himself with decorations, trying to put the servants' worries at ease. Queen Molly, on the other hand, was fretting over the appearance of each of her children. Her three oldest, Charlie, Bill and Percy, hardly needed any preparations, as they had passed her check to make sure they looked adequate for the ball. Fred and George, her twins, were being a pain as usual. They kept swapping clothes in between her checking over each of her children. You see, each of the children had their first initial embroidered into their suits (apart from Ginny, whom had it embroidered into the flowery headband she wore), and the twins' suits were identical, apart from the letters. Eventually, Queen Molly just became so fed up that she sent the two to assist their father in the main hall.</p>
<p>Next was Ron, the youngest son. Molly had straightened his tie several times and readjusted his hair even more. Ron was clearly uncomfortable in the suit, voicing his discomfort every time she adjusted something.</p>
<p>“Oh hush, Ronald. Must you complain about everything I do?” She chided as Ron loosened his tie once again.	</p>
<p>“Sorry, mum, I’m just not really fond of parties.” He voiced for what felt like the hundredth time that week. Molly scoffed at him.</p>
<p>“Shush, dear, now is your time to branch out! Just think of all the new friends you’ll make! Or maybe even find yourself a special someone, hmm?” Molly tried, attempting to fix Ron’s hair once more before she gave up and moved on to Ginny. Ron sneered at the ground.</p>
<p>“Yeah, right. Like anyone would choose me over all of my brothers and Ginny.” Ron grumbled to himself, glaring at Ginny as she snickered besides him. Ron had never found himself very appealing, he had the same fiery red hair and coating of freckles that all of his family had, he was tall, lanky, and unkempt. Not to mention his social awkwardness and the fact that his siblings had so much going for them. Charlie was a dragon tamer! Bill was easy going and hard to dislike! Percy was brilliant, and had a great future career in politics! Fred and George had excellent senses of humor and had opened up the first joke shop in the whole kingdom! Ginny was, well Ginny. As the only daughter of the King and Queen with six sons, of course she was going to have an appeal to all the men (and some women) of the kingdom. Ron didn’t feel special, he didn’t have any tamed dragons, or was hard to dislike, or have any political smarts, or a joke shop, or any of what his siblings had. He was just there. The son that was supposed to be the daughter, the final child the King and Queen were supposed to have. Why would anyone choose him over his siblings?</p>
<p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>Harry wiped the sweat from his brow. Apart from his usual tasks, he had spent many sleepless nights sewing together a suit, one that he could wear to the ball. It was nowhere near as dashing as the one he had seen in the tailors shop, but it looked significantly better than Dudley’s bright green abomination. He could hear Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon fussing over him in the next room, as the three prepared for the ball. Harry himself had just cut the last thread from the suit and stood back to admire his work. Sure, he was no professional suit-maker, but he thought he had done a rather good job, given what little materials he had to work with. The homemade suit was black, matching his messy hair, with a white undershirt and black tie adorned with a pin that resembled a lightning bolt.</p>
<p>Checking the clock on the wall, Harry rushed to get into his suit, jumping as he heard Aunt Petunia call for him aggressively. They had agreed to take him, but only if he could make a suit for himself. As Harry quickly tried to comb his wild hair, he felt the elbow of his suit rip. His face drained of color as he held it up to eye level. Aunt Petunia squawked out his name once again, just as Harry felt the knee of his suit rip. Was he just that bad at sewing? As Harry bent down to assess the rip on his knee, the slamming of his bedroom door made him jump once more, and the whole back of his suit jacket split down the middle as he fell to the ground. Harry’s glasses fell off his face, and he looked up to see the blurry, laughing figures of the Dursley’s. Their hyena-like laughs stung as they made fun of the mess that had occurred just moments before. </p>
<p>The Dursley’s laughed about how he could be so stupid as to think they would take him along, about how he was so dumb he couldn’t even sew a suit. As they turned to leave, Harry cringed as he heard the crunch of what was surely his glasses breaking under Dudley’s foot. As he heard the carriage pull away, Harry shakily grabbed for his glasses, one lens shattered beyond repair, and the other had a huge crack in it, as well as one of the ear pieces being bent at a weird angle.</p>
<p>Harry shakily sighed as he leaned against his bed frame, letting the tears finally slip out from his eyes. Of course he wouldn’t be so lucky. Of course his suit ripped. Of course he wouldn’t even get to see the ball. Harry cried quietly, bringing his knees up to his chest and pressing his face into them. Harry startled as a hand patted his shoulder soon followed by a kind sounding voice.</p>
<p>“There, there, son. It’s alright, no use crying over a ripped suit, eh?” The voice chuckled. Harry looked up to be met with a kind looking elderly man. The man had long silvery hair and a long grey beard to match. He wore burgundy robes that were embroidered with pictures of a phoenix, as well as a matching hat. He smiled at Harry from behind his half moon spectacles. Harry shot up like a rocket.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, who are you?” He asked, afraid someone had just waltzed their way into the Dursley’s home. Surely he would be locked in his room for days without food for this. The man smiled warmly at him.</p>
<p>“Why, I’m your fairy godfather, of course.” The man introduced himself. Harry blinked before rubbing the tears (and disbelief) from his eyes. When he opened them once more, the man still stood, smiling kindly at him. </p>
<p>“That’s right son, now come, we can’t have you going to the ball looking like that. We’ll fix you up, but we must hurry. Now let me see where-” Fairy Godfather cut himself off as he felt around his robes. “Oh, I know I left my wand somewhere around here…” He muttered to himself. Harry stood back a little, still in disbelief. “Aha!” Fairy Godfather said triumphantly as he pulled a long, beaded stick from his sleeve. A soft white twinkle emitted from the end of the stick. 	</p>
<p>“I’m sorry sir, but how is that going to help us any?” Harry asked as he felt another spot on his suit split open. Fairy Godfather flashed a kind, yet cunning smile.</p>
<p>“You just wait, Harry. Now, the first thing you’d need for a ball is, oh what was it? Oh of course! A carriage!” Fairy Godfather waved his wand and a fully grown pumpkin plant sprouted from the stoney floor! Fairy Godfather waved his wand once more, and the pumpkin began to levitate! “We’ll have to go outside for this, Harry!” Fairy Godfather called, waltzing out Harry’s room and through the front door. Harry pinched himself once before jogging to keep up after the magical man. Before Harry’s very eyes, the pumpkin transformed into a stunning white carriage with majestic golden accents. </p>
<p>“Oh my- wow, that’s quite the carriage.” Harry said, gawking at what used to be a pumpkin. Fairy Godfather chuckled.</p>
<p>“There’s more where that came from, son. Now what’s a carriage without horses and a coachman?” Fairy Godfather asked, conjuring two stark white horses from thin air. The horses looked elegant, each baring a violet leather reign, they neighed happily as a woman appeared out of thin air as well. She had bushy brown hair and a warm smile as she greeted Harry and Fairy Godfather. “Harry, this is Hermione, she’ll be your coachwoman for the night.” Fairy Godfather introduced. She smiled brightly as Harry shook her hand. </p>
<p>“It’s a pleasure, Harry. I’m happy to help you tonight.” She said before climbing into the coach. </p>
<p>“Now, there’s one last thing that needs some adjusting.” Fairy Godfather said, looking pointedly at Harry. “Your suit, Harry. My apologies, but you look dreadful.” He pointed out. Harry rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>“I’m aware, sir.” Harry replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. Fairy Godfather chuckled.</p>
<p>“Now, if my memory serves me right, there was a suit that you had your eyes on, yes?” The bearded man asked, a twinkle in his eyes. Harry smiled fondly at the memory.</p>
<p>“Right.” Harry sighed. Fairy Godfather smiled warmly.</p>
<p>“Then that’s the suit you’ll get!” He exclaimed, pointing his wand at Harry. Harry didn’t have time to react before his torn, manky suit transformed into the gorgeous suit he had seen in the tailors shop, silver stag buttons and all. Harry spun around, looking down at the suit. He noticed he could also see clearly out of his glasses once again.</p>
<p>“It’s brilliant! It looks even better than I could have dreamed!” Harry cried, grinning widely. Fairy Godfather smiled before a stern look came over his face. </p>
<p>“Indeed it is, but like all dreams, it must come to an end, at midnight that is.” Fairy Godfather chided, poking Harry in the chest.</p>
<p>“Midnight? But why only midnight?” Harry asked, a little disheartened. </p>
<p>“I’m afraid my magic is very limited, Harry. But don’t let that stop you! Go and have some fun tonight. Live for once without those relatives of yours to berate you. But just remember,” Fairy Godfather said, placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “The magic will only last until midnight, past that point, you’ll be right back to square one.” Fairy Godfather warned. Harry nodded, saddened, but he understood. Harry climbed into the carriage, waving to Fairy Godfather as the carriage took off into the night.</p>
<p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>Ron watched with a grimace as his brothers were introduced one by one. Charlie, the dragon-tamer! Bill, the friendly! Percy, the brilliant! Fred and George, the accomplished! Ronald, the youngest (he scoffed at the title he had been given)! And finally, Ginerva, the beautiful! A half smirk appeared on his face as he heard Ginny grumble.</p>
<p>“The beautiful? Seriously, that's what we’re going with?” She muttered, glaring at the ground. Ron snickered under his breath, sighing with relief once he and his siblings were given the go ahead to wander the hall. Ron immediately made for the buffet area, loosening his tie and messing the gel out of his hair. If he was going to be forced to attend this ball, then he was gonna be comfortable, whether his mum liked it or not. He began to stuff his face with every appetizing thing he saw, because man was he hungry. He noticed another guy, around his age, in the most handsome suit he had ever seen. Ron almost let the various pieces of chocolate fall out of his mouth in awe. The guy was just as (if not more) handsome as his suit, his messy black hair tousled as he approached the buffet table, and his eyebrows furrowed together as he poured himself a glass of punch. Ron shook himself back to his senses and he swallowed the food in his mouth. He watched the lad sit down at a nearby table, looking rather put off. Ron mustered up his courage before he made his way over to the table, clearing his throat. The lad looked up at him, a sharp look in his eyes.</p>
<p>“Is this seat taken?” Ron asked, wondering why that would be the first thing to come to mind. The lad hummed.</p>
<p>“No, not at all.” He said, scooching a bit to the left on the bench to make room for him. Ron smiled awkwardly before sitting down. They sat in silence for a bit, sipping their punch and watching the attendees. Of course Ron’s older siblings had no problem finding girls to dance with, and that made Ron scoff. He searched for Ginny for a bit before he glanced over at the lad next to him. He didn’t even seem fazed that one of the members of the royal family had asked to sit next to him. Perhaps he didn’t recognize him? Not that Ron could blame him, as he wasn’t exactly headline news like his brothers were.</p>
<p>“Bit of a drag, isn’t it?” Ron asked, breaking the silence. The lad glanced at him before nodding.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I honestly don’t know what I was expecting when I thought about this all week.” The lad said, chuckling. Ron smiled at that. Good to know he wasn’t the only one not enjoying himself. They fell into smooth conversation, talking endlessly about the people they saw, making up backstories for every attendee. They watched the crowd for a bit, before Ron made a joke.</p>
<p>“Well, it’s as I always say, why follow the spiders when you can follow the butterflies?” He finished with a laugh. He felt his face flush as the lad laughed a genuine laugh.</p>
<p>“Following the spiders doesn’t sound all too pleasant.” The lad chided. They continued in this loop, a new inside joke popping in almost every other sentence. Somehow, they always came back to ‘follow the butterflies’. It just stuck. They people watched some more before they focused on a rotund lad that was approaching a very frustrated Ginny. </p>
<p>“Man, he just doesn’t know when to quit, does he?” Ron asked, gesturing to the round lad that his sister rejected once more. The lad beside him’s eyes widened a bit before he relaxed once again. </p>
<p>“No kidding.” He hummed, watching as Ginny stomped away from the guy, who followed her once again. Several more jokes followed about the lads pursuit of Ginny followed. They snickered and cackled like maniacs as the lad was rejected again and again. They made fun of his suit, and the way he crawled back to his parents, crying after each rejection. Ron hadn’t expected to have such a good time, and he felt his face flush after every one of the lad’s laughs. Ron expected it to be no different when he saw Ginny stomp hard on the fat guy’s foot, letting out a howl of laughter. The lad next to him laughed too, before he paled as he saw the kid limp off with his family. He stood suddenly.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, I really have to go!” He said urgently, quickly walking off. Ron was caught off guard. Had he said something wrong? He leapt up, calling after the lad.</p>
<p>“Wait! I never got your name!” He called, losing track of the guy as he pushed through the crowd, sighing as he finally reached the entrance to see that the lad had gotten away. Why had he had to leave so quickly? They were having a great time, and they got along really well. Whatever the reason was, Ron knew he had to find the lad. Never before had he met someone who shared his sense of humor and distaste for parties. He just had to find him, the lad who would follow the butterflies with him.</p>
<p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>Harry sighed as the carriage rumbled along the path, hopefully ahead of the Dursley’s carriage. Sure, the night hadn’t gone exactly like he had hoped, but he had a great time with the lad, whom he assumed to be a cleaned up stable boy. He was just so easy to get along with, and Harry felt something flutter in his chest when he thought about the freckled boy with the fiery red hair. But, as Fairy Godfather had said, all good things must come to an end, and he sighed, knowing he would probably never see the lad again. The carriage rolled to a stop, and Hermione opened the door for him, smiling sadly as he exited with a disheartened look on his face.</p>
<p>“Thank you for your help, Hermione, it really means a lot.” Harry said, shaking her hand once again. She smiled sadly at him.</p>
<p>“The pleasure was all mine, Harry, you deserved a night of fun.” She said, patting his shoulder. Harry nodded before trudging into the house. Harry removed the suit, pulling a shirt and pants from his wardrobe and dressing himself, sighing when he saw the suit had disappeared from his bed when he returned. He looked out the window to where the carriage was, but now, only the Dursley’s brown carriage stood in its place. Harry peaked from the crack in his bedroom door to see Aunt Petunia usher a wailing Dudley into his bedroom, followed closely behind by a fuming Uncle Vernon. Harry smirked at the memory of Princess Ginerva stomping down hard on his foot. Harry laid down upon his musty old bed, thinking about the party, about that ginger lad he had met. He let out a sigh of content.</p>
<p>“I’ll just follow the butterflies.” Harry whispered to himself before he drifted off into a happy dream of dancing with the lad at the ball.</p>
<p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>The kingdom was all alight the very next day. Prince Ronald had put out the call for assistance in searching for a lad he had met at the ball, but hadn’t gotten the name of. All day, he, the twins and Ginny had been going door to door, seeing if anyone could finish his saying.</p>
<p>“It’s as I always say, why follow the spiders-?” Ron must have repeated hundreds of times but to no avail. No one seemed to recognize the saying, and thus, Ron started to lose hope. Maybe the lad had been visiting from another kingdom, and had returned home already? He hoped not. Finally, after a long, arduous day of repeating the same phrase over and over, and hearing countless pep-talks from the twins and Ginny, the group reached the last house.</p>
<p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>Harry heard the doorbell ring just as Uncle Vernon locked his bedroom door. There was no way he’d be seen by the royalty. He was far too mangy. Besides, Harry hadn’t gone to the ball last night. That they knew of. Harry looked out the window to see the group of royals and a few guards standing at the front door. He recognized Princess Ginerva right away, and he assumed the twins were Prince Fred and Prince George respectively. The fourth royal had Harry doing a double take. There was no way… The lad he had spent the evening talking to was a Prince?!?! Then, then Harry must be the one he’s looking for! Harry dashed forward, pulling at the door handle, but it was no use, Uncle Vernon had it locked tight. Harry felt a tear prick at his eye. He was going to miss them, and never see the Prince again, and the Prince would think that Harry had run off on him!<br/>
<br/>
“Fairy Godfather, please! Please unlock the door!” Harry cried out, wrenching the door with all his might. To his surprise, the door creaked open, just beyond it sat a bushy brown cat, holding a key in its mouth. Harry stared for a moment, before he jumped up, thanking the cat and Fairy Godfather as he rushed down the long flight of stairs. Harry skipped steps upon hearing Dudley being unable to recite the inside joke Harry and the Prince had had. Harry landed hard on the ground before he started shouting.</p>
<p>“Wait! Wait! I can answer the joke!” He called, hearing the creak of the front door opening. Harry skidded to a halt in the living room where a furious Aunt Petunia and Uncle Dursley glared daggers at him. Harry panted heavily, unconsciously trying to rub the gathered dirt from his face.</p>
<p>“Don’t mind him, he’s just the worker boy!” Uncle Vernon sputtered out, despite the deathly rage he was feeling that the kid had somehow gotten out of the room and was now embarrassing his family in front of royalty. The Prince’s party looked dumbfounded, before they scowled at the two.</p>
<p>“Didn’t we say we needed to ask all men the joke?” The twins said in unison. Ginny stared fiercely at Dudley, who yelped and hid behind his mother. Ron, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at the lad. He had the same black, messy hair, the same circular glasses, and the same mossy green eyes that the lad last night had had, but Ron just needed to be sure.</p>
<p>“It’s as I always say, why follow the spiders-?” Ron tried, feeling more hopeful than he had all day. The lad smiled up at him. The smile that had made Ron flush so easily just the previous night.<br/>
<br/>
“When you can follow the butterflies.” Harry finished, before he felt himself being pulled into a hug by the tall ginger Prince. He faintly heard the aws emitted from Princess Ginerva and the twins, he heard Uncle Vernon sputter in disbelief, and maybe even Aunt Petunia fainted, but all he cared about right now was the Prince holding him tightly, making him blush. They pulled away, blushing furiously.</p>
<p>“I’m Ron, by the way, Ron Weasley.”</p>
<p>“I’m Harry, Harry Potter.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yes, the cat was Hermione.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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